Outcesticide III: The Final Solution

AMG Review of Outcesticide III: The Final Solution

Greg Prato
All Music Guide

Since Nirvana's 1993 official odds-and-ends release Incesticide left many a stone unturned, there remained an insatiable demand for Nirvana rarities. That's where Blue Moon Records comes to the rescue. The Final Solution (the third installment of their Outcesticide series) does a good job of balancing the obscure with the well-known, and live versions with studio takes. The material varies from little-known covers (Fang's "The Money Will Roll Right In") to early demos ("Mr. Moustache" from 1988), radio sessions ("Drain You"), live versions ("Oh, the Guilt"), hits ("Smells Like Teen Spirit"), unreleased material ("Alcohol"), and oddities ("Beans"). Highlights include the sticky-sweet melodicism of "Blandest" (a rejected B-side for their "Love Buzz" 7"), the whispered and fragile "Marigold" (a Dave Grohl demo), and two different versions of "Dive" (one from early on with different lyrics, the other fully realized). None of the tracks on Outcesticde III are available anywhere else, except for "Tourette's" (listed here as "The Eagle Has Landed"), which ended up on the Wishkah live album. The sound quality is consistent, for the most part (with a downer here and there), but worth the time of any Nirvana fan searching for the uncommon.